Asian Blitz Chess Championship 2026: Goutham Krishna Wins Second Silver

Le Tuan Minh won the Asian Blitz Chess Championship 2026 in Hong Kong, while India's Goutham Krishna H took silver with 11/13 after beating Wang Hao.

Vietnam's GM Le Tuan Minh is the new Asian Blitz Champion. He scored 11 points from 13 games in Hong Kong. India's IM Goutham Krishna H also scored 11 points and took the silver medal on tiebreak, his second silver of the week after the rapid championship.

The blitz games were very fast, at 3 minutes per player plus 2 seconds per move, and 13 rounds were played in a single day.

Le Tuan Minh was the most consistent player in the field. His key game came in round 8, when he beat Goutham Krishna in their head-to-head encounter.

Goutham's blitz event was remarkable all the same. In round 1 he beat GM Bai Jinshi of China. Later he beat GM Vaibhav Suri, and in the last two rounds he finished with wins over two very strong grandmasters, Wang Hao and Pavel Ponkratov.

China's Jiang Haochen took the bronze medal with 9.5 points, ahead of Wang Hao on tiebreak. India's GM Prraneeth Vuppala finished in the top eight with 9 points.

Two silver medals at the Asian Rapid and Blitz Championships is an outstanding result for a young player. It is a sign of a bright future for Goutham, and an inspiration for young Indian players who dream of competing at the international level.

There is a lesson in his finish. After losing to the eventual champion in round 8, Goutham did not give up on a medal. He kept winning, including against two of the highest-rated players in the field. In a long blitz event a single loss can feel like the end, but there are almost always more chances ahead. The players who keep fighting are the ones who end up on the podium.

Congratulations to Le Tuan Minh, and to Goutham Krishna for a superb week in Hong Kong.